David Davis-Principled Politician or just a Politician?
Peter Brookes, with this cartoon on 13 June 2008, in the Times, gives a common pundit’s view on the action of David Davis, British Tory politician in resigning to contest a by-election over the 42 day detention issue in relation to terrorist suspects. Skewering the files on a train issue as well.
Matthew Parris writing in the same paper has a thoughtful piece which strikes a different tone and wonders if the public may view it all quite differently from those in the Westminster purlieu or as the Americans and Dear Leader would say -’Inside the Beltway’ – Parris suspects that those outside the beltway have a different view of the world.
Mr Davis may have an eye to a different Britain. His actions betray an element of madness, but madness can be dangerous. His party will hope that by this time next week the storm will be over and David Davis will be a diminished and negligible coxcomb fighting a silly by-election. That is the likelihood but not the certainty. For the Tories, and for the moment, it is worth keeping him on side.
Adam thinks that for the moment Parris and Davis may well have got it right.
It should not be forgotten that Davis aspires to the Tory leadership. So this may well be a gambit in a long game of politics. It would be interesting though if this was a case of principle, not politics. We can hope!
The passing of these laws in Britain, the Patriot Act in the USA, and counter terrorist legislation in many other countries, including what turned out to be deeply flawed law, again, in New Zealand; gives Adam cause to think that in many ways Osama bin Laden and his ilk have in large measure succeeded in that they have accomplished:-
- the erosion of personal liberty and freedom in the name of freedom
- they have created religious tension where there may have been relatively little, thus poisoning the relations between, faiths, races and in many instances neighbours
- they have in this manner sown the seeds of long term discord and fuelled the malcontents.
Much of this has been aided by the kneejerk re-actions of authorities pandering to feelings stirred up by the terrorist actions.
Yet in Britain, which endured a 30 year bombing campaign by the IRA without these draconian laws and actions; Adam cannot help thinking that in the response to this cycle of terror something central to the concept of being British has been lost, probably forever and thus an irrevocable diminution in what it means to be British.
The loss of freedom to preserve freedom now that truly is an oxymoron.
